By Dan Slowey | at
According to Bill Chastain of MLB.com, right-hander Dewon Day cleared waivers earlier today and was outrighted by Tampa Bay to Triple-A Durham.
Day, 28, spent the 2008 season in the White Sox organization, posting a 6.61 ERA in 13 starts in Double-A Birmingham and a 4.56 ERA in 21 relief appearances in Triple-A Charlotte.
He was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox in October and then by the Rays on Friday. He has an invitation to Major League Camp in Spring Training.
By Dan Slowey | at
As reported by Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, Pudge Rodriguez has encountered limited interest in his services thus far, and is hoping that a strong showing in the World Baseball Classic will change that.
"I’m in great shape," Rodriguez said. "Whoever gets me, it’s going to be a lot like hitting the lotto. I’m back in the shape I was in 2004. I’m at 195-200 (pounds), and I’m ready to go."
In 2004, Pudge went .334/.383/.510 in 575 plate appearances; in 2008, he went .276/.319/.394 in 429.
By Dan Slowey | at
As Nick Piecoro reports, Randy Wolf is the latest free agent starting pitcher to decline an offer from the D’backs this off-season. Brad Penny, Randy Johnson, and Jon Garland are some of the others who have already indicated their desire to pursue other options.
Not much is known about the offer made to Penny, but Johnson was apparently offered a one-year deal in the $2-3MM range, and Garland is rumored to have been offered both a one-year deal that included two option years and a guaranteed two-year deal worth at least $13 million.
Piecoro notes that the rapidity with which Arizona appears to be cycling through its options could turn out to be an effective strategy for getting the right player at the right price. Pedro Martinez, perhaps? Of course, this is all assuming that they can get someone to actually say yes.
By Dan Slowey | at
Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Tom Glavine’s second session throwing off the mound went significantly better than his first, and that the veteran lefty now feels that he could be ready for the start of the regular season.
Working out his surgically-repaired elbow and shoulder for the second time in four days, Glavine mixed in changeups for the first time, and reported no pain. "If you’d have told me that in the middle of January I would have thrown off the mound a few times and seen this kind of improvement in arm strength, I’d have certainly taken it," Glavine said.
As for whether or not he anticipates returning to the Braves, Glavine admitted uncertainty. "There’s always a chance that it might not work out because of finances or that they want to go in another direction. I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about getting to the point where I can pitch again." The 42-year-old had a 5.54 ERA in 63.1 innings with the Braves in 2008.
By Dan Slowey | at
By agreeing to a one-year, $1.225MM deal earlier today, the Padres and Heath Bell avoided the potentially distasteful process of exchanging figures, and Bell avoided the always distasteful process of getting dressed up.
Now, Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the two parties may soon come to terms on a multi-year extension.
Regarding the likelihood of such an extension, Padres GM Kevin Towers stated, "We explored it in September for probably about a month. It’s something we’re still open to. I imagine that’s something we will explore in the next couple days. I don’t see this thing dragging out."
Bell, set to replace Trevor Hoffman as the Padres’ closer in 2009, had a 3.58 ERA in 78 innings in 2008.
By Dan Slowey | at
According to Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe, both the Red Sox and Jonathan Papelbon remain interested in pursuing a multi-year contract extension for the All-Star closer.
Although the parties agreed to a one-year, $6.25MM deal earlier today, Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer said of the chances of a long-term deal, "I would say, certainly, those discussions are open and we may pick them up going forward. I think both sides felt like in the interest of time and not exchanging numbers, the best thing to do was to agree on a one-year number today. But we are certainly open to exploring those ideas, and I think their side is, too."
By Dan Slowey | at
Paul DePodesta posted a very straightforward primer on the arbitration process on his blog this evening. In addition to explaining the process quite clearly, it underscores the extent to which both parties in a given case are usually interested in resolving things amicably.
No word on whether any of the 111 players who filed for arbitration this year – or any of the teams or players listed in our Arbitration Figures post – will be swayed by the primer or its sentiment.
By Dan Slowey | at
FRIDAY: Kat O’Brien of Newsday: "The source said nothing had been finalized on Pettitte but that the Yankees were leaning toward no."
THURSDAY: After spending more than $400MM on C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and, of course, Mark Teixeira over the last few weeks, Andy Pettitte’s return to the Yankees is now "doubtful," a team official tells Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Pettitte has not yet responded to the Yankees’ original offer of a one-year, $10MM offer for 2009. The 36-year-old-lefty had a 4.54 ERA in 204 innings for the team in 2008.
By Dan Slowey | at
Now that Mark Teixeira has found a home in New York, the Mets would like to talk with two other Scott Boras clients about following suit, Ben Shpigel of the New York Times reports. The Mets are interested in Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez, in that order, and believe that the market may be shaping up to allow them to obtain their first choice. Nothing is imminent for the Mets at this time.
With the Yankees (almost) definitely out of the picture, and the Red Sox seemingly focused more on hitting, the Mets are optimistic that they can get Lowe for considerably less than the five-year $90MM deal he was rumored to be looking for initially. If for some reason this doesn’t work out, the enigmatic Perez would be their next choice, Shpigel says.
Lowe, 35, had a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings for the Dodgers in 2008. Perez, 27, had a 4.22 ERA in 194 innings for the Mets.
By Dan Slowey | at
Does anyone have a major league job for Sammy Sosa?
That’s the question that he’s (still) waiting for the answer to, according to Dominican newspaper Listin Diario (via ESPN.com). "I still don’t have an offer and I shouldn’t be looking for offers out there," said Sosa, 40, who sat out 2008 after posting a .252/.311/.468 line for the Texas Rangers in 2007. He currently sits at 6th place on the career home run list, with 609.
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